I have been a long time lurker and this is my first post. My wife owns a 2007 Prius and I am expecting the 2010 Winter Grey IV in early July. I really like what has been done to the exterior of the 2010 with one exception - the alloy wheels and the plastic wheel covers. I would be willing to spend the money to replace these but as someone who has never purchased non-oem wheels I am not sure what issues I should be concerned about. I would expect there may be a change in wind resistance, and perhaps more of the guts (brakes, etc) would be exposed with wheels with a different spoke configuration. Are there other things I should be concerned about? Any comments on my listed concerns? Anyone have any suggestions one what would look and perform well on the stock 15 inch tires?
You might search around the forum if you haven't already seen this. But some have removed the wheel covers and bought caps for the alloys. How it looks is subjective. Those that have done it, like it, but reaction has been mixed. I think it looks fine. Might be a wind resistance change, but at least your running on the Toyota provide rims. I can't imagine it would make too huge a difference. I might be in the very, very rare category of those that actually think the wheel covers don't look that bad.
If you're going aftermarket, here are a few things you need to arm yourself with: - get the specs of the tyre (so 195/65R15). Make sure the new rim can mount those tyres - make sure the bolt pattern is the same (I don't have that info) - Note that they will be heavier than stock (the 15s are lightweight alloys)
Check post 2 of this thread for wheel size and offset: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-technical-discussion/64309-wheel-weight.html In addition to the 15 and 17 inch sizes you could also consider 16 inch wheels with 205/55 tires. Here is a good site to start looking for wheels or wheels and tires. If you call or email them they will answer your questions. I have had pretty good luck with them over the years. Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels Don't forget about the TPMS sensors, if you don't use the same ones you need to have the new ones programed by a dealer.
Just a couple clarifications- you can use the same tires if you want, but then you will be restricted to the 15" size wheel. If you decide to get larger wheels, you'll have to get a lower profile tire in order to match the same outside diameter as the OEM setup. Also, the stock 15" wheels aren't that lightweight at 16.3 pounds (7.4kg). You can easily find replacements that weigh the same or even a pound or so less at a very reasonable price. You could step up to 16" or 17" wheels without too much compromise in weight (or even stay the same) and not break the bank. The stock 17" wheels from the Prius V are very heavy for 17" at 24 lbs (11kg) and you can easily stay under that on bargain 17" wheels.
look for a tire size calculator. That'll help you determine the exact specs if you want to increase the size of your wheel.
Ok that makes sense. Now I have a question about winter tires. I am going to be living in Boston for only one more year, so I really dont want to buy a set of rims for one season. Lucky for me, the winter tires I had for my old car are the same size and only 2 seasons old so I was going to plan on using them on my new Prius. Does this mess up the TPMS sensor? Is it better to just leave the oem tires/wheels alone and buy cheap rims to put my tires on?
